Button-hole attachment for sewing-machines



(M odeL) 4 Sheets Sheet 1. J. H. PALMER.

BUTTON HOLE ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MAGHINES. N0. 302

,018. Patented July 1-5, 1884.

um w. ,Ll/zodc/ u. FEYERS. Phnlo-Lilhngnpher. Wmhington. n. c.

' 4 ShebsSheet 2.

(ModeL) 'J. H. PALMER. V BUTTON HOLE ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MAOHINES.

Patented July 15,1884.

.4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(ModeL) J; H. PA'LM ER. BUTTON HOLE ATTACHMENT-FOR SEWINGMACHINES. No. 302,018.-

Patented July 15,1884.

(ModeL) 4 SheetsSheet 4. J. H. PALMER.

.BUTTON HOLE ATTAOHMENT FOR SEWING MAGHINES. No. 302,018.

' P-atented July 15, 1884p TIL U iTnn STATES PATENT Fries.

JOHN H. PALMER, or PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

BUTTON-HOLE ATTACHMENT FOR'SEWING-MACHNINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 302,018, dated July 15, 1884.

Application filed April 13, 1883. (ModeL) attachments for sewingmachines; and it consists in certain combinations of elements whereby the cloth is vibrated under the needle during its reciprocation, the said cloth being vibrated from a fixed point, and in many details of construction, all of which are fully set forth in the following specification and shown in the accompanying drawings, which form part thereof.

Heretofore in button-hole attachments and sewing-machines the cloth or clamp for holding the cloth has been moved under the needle in two directions by devices guided in suitable ways, the said devices being made to move at right angles to each other; or the needle has been made to move laterally in place of moving the cloth, in which case only one movement is given to the cloth. In my machine the material to be operated uponis held in a suitable clamp or vise, supported by one arm of a cranked lever, or at one end of. a straight bar, the said cranked lever or straight bar having a fulcrum upon which it vibrates at a convenient distancefrom the end bearing the clamp or vise. Connected with the cranked lever or straight bar, preferably upon the up per surface, is a sliding vibratinglever, having its fulcrum attached to the first-mentioned lever or bar, the said fulcrum also serving as 5o crum of which the cam rotates. The sliding vibrating lever is caused to vibrate or oscillate upon its fulcrum by means of a second cam attached to the first cam, or to the toothed or friction clutch. Each part of this machine,

by reason of the arrangements above men- &

tioned,'receives its motion from the vibration of the first-mentioned cranked lever or straight bar, which has its fulcrum securely fixed to a suitably-arranged base or support.

In the drawings, Figure l is a plan view of my improved button-hole attachment for seW- Fig. 2 is a sectional. plan of .pleted button-hole; and Fig. 6 shows buttonhole attachment as applied to a sewing-machine. Fig. 7 is a cross-section on line 8 s of Fig. l. Fig. 8 is a similar cross-section onv line 15 t of Fig. 1. feed-cams.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the same, and Fig. 11 is a perspective View of the entire attachment. A is the base plate or support, and carries a stud, B. Pivoted to this stud is a straight or cranked lever, O, which may receive its motion from the sewing-machine by any suitable-mechanism. To vibrate lever O, I pivot to one end .of it, at c, a lever, 0, having a slot, 0 in which a slide, 0 works, the said slide being pivoted to an adjustable fulcrum; 0, carried by a block, 0", furnished with a slot, 0*, through which abolt, 0 is passed to secure it firmly to the base-plate A. The throw of crank C may be regulated by the above-described device at once by gage 0 The lever 0 may be vibrated by /a lever, B

pivoted on a pin, R, secured to standard Q,

and connected with lever G by a universal joint, R". The other end of lever O is slotted,

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of as at O, to allow the passage of a stud, D, se-

I varying with the different machines.

Piy oted to stud B is an arm, F, which carries on its end a lever, F, pivoted at f, and on its outer end provided with a roller or pin, f,against which the long arm of lever Eworks. The inner arm of lever F is secured to the friction-band F", which encircles the frictionwheel G, also pivoted to the pin or stud B, and provided with pins 9. The other end of the band F is secured at f to the arm F. A screw, F on lever O adjusts the amount of throw of arm F in one direction, and thus limits the total throw of the said arm. This arm F is drawn against the said screw by a spring, f. The lever E oscillates the lever F, tightening the band F 011 the wheel G, and upon the further movement of the said lever E the arm F is swung around, extending spring f and turning the wheel G and the cams H and I,which are set upon the pins 9, or otherwise secured thereto.

Any other form of clutch mechanism may be used in lieu of that just described.

The cam H is formed of two segments of circles of different diameters, said segments being connected by straight edges, which latter move the cloth to form the ends of the button-hole. The difference between the diameters of the concentric parts of this cam controls the distance apart of the two rows of stitches forming the two sides of the buttonhole. This cam H works in the slot k of the sliding vibrating lever K,which is slotted also at K and works on the cranked lever O,being guided thereon by block D and its pin D"; hence this bar is carried by said lever C, and in addition to the vibration imparted by the motion of said lever C, it is also vibrated by the cam H. The end of this sliding vibrating lever K is provided with the lower jaw, J, of the clamp,which is provided with an aperture, 7', suffieient to take in the completed buttonhole.

Pivoted at J to the end'of this sliding vibrating lever is the other jaw, J, having an aperture and teeth, J, to fit the jaw J. The upper part of said jaw J is provided with spring-extension J ,which is pressed out when clamping the cloth by a lever, L.

To the upper part of the sliding vibrating lever K is secured by bolt M a plate, M, carrying the fixed roller m and the adjustable roller m, made adjustable in a slot, 0, by stud N and nut N.

The heart-shaped cam I, secured to the cam H, works between said rollers to reciprocate the sliding vibrating lever K uniformly in both directions upon lever 0, independently of its lateral or vibratory movement. By this means the button-hole is worked first up one side, then by the straight part of cam H around the end U, and then back down the other side, and the other straight edge of cam l-I completing the other end U. This but ton-hole attachment X, as awhole, is attached to a sewing-machine in any suitable manner, One

method is shown in Fig. (i, in which the lever R is rocked by a bar, S, worked by an eccentric, S, upon thesewing-machinc shaft T.

P is the sewing-machine needle.

2 z in Fig. 1 represent the center line, and w w the amount of lateral throw.

The action of this machine is as follows: The cloth or material to be operated upon is secured in the clamp J J, and placed conveniently under the needle P of a sewing-machine with which the button-hole machine X is connected, to act synchronously. At each stitch or descent of the needle P the sliding vibrating lever K moves from one terminus of its vibratory movement to the other, the distance of such vibration being adjustable through the movable fulcrum 0", connected with an intermediate lever, R, placed between the sewing-1nachine and the button-hole machine. This vibration by the cams I H in unison with the needle and thread of the sewing-machine forms the stitches along thesides and around the ends of a button-hole. At the same moment of vibration the sliding vibrating lever K, to which the clamp or vise J J is securely attached, is advanced or retired one interval of its movement by cam I. This movement regulatesthedistanee between the stitches, and is adjustable by regulating the distance traveled at each vibration of the friction-wheel G and cam I. Upon the completion of half a revolution of the cam Hat each end of the parallel movement of the sliding vibrating lever K and its vise or clamp (consequently at each end of the button-hole) the cam H communicates an oscillating movement to the sliding vibrating lever K. This forms the rounded ends U of button-hole U and distance between rows of stitching, and is adjustable either by tapering the cam H or by using cams of varying sizes, the length of button-hole being regulated by the same method.

The sliding vibrating lever K may be moved forward at each single vibration, if desired, in place of each double vibration, as is preferable.

I do not limit myself to the exact construction shown, as it may be modified in various ways without departing from my invention.

I am aware of the patents granted to Hallenbeck,Apri13, 1883, No. 275,200, and Thomas, January 14, 1879, No. 211,435, and claim nothing therein set forth or claimed, for in those patents there are no pivoted bars or levers used to move the cloth, and in no sense is there a cloth carrying or sliding vibrating bar supported upon an oscillating lever, but instead are found two separate and distinct motions at right angles to each other imparted to two blocks or slides, to one of which the cloth is secured or clamped.

In this application I make no claim, specifically, to the friction-band device for converting reciprocatory into intermittent rotary motion, as that forms subject-matter of another pending application, Serial No. 121,390, and filed February 20, 1884. l I

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a button-hole attachment for sewingmachines, an oscillating lever pivoted at one end, in combination with mechanism to oscillate it, and devices by which the cloth is attached to said lever and moved forward a short distance at each alternate vibration or oscillation of said lever, and then automatically passed across and back again to form the end of the button-hole, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. In a button-hole attachment for a sewing-machine, an oscillating lever, in combination with mechanism to oscillate said lever, a sliding vibrating lever supported by said oscillating lever, and provided with means to clamp the cloth, and mechanism. substantially as described,'to move said sliding vibrating lever forward or backward a short distance with each alternate vibration thereof, substantially as and for the purpose specified.-

3. In abutton-hole attachment for a sewing-machine, an oscillating lever, in combination with mechanism to oscillate said lever, a sliding vibrating lever supported by said oscillating lever, and provided with means to clamp the cloth, and mechanism, substantially as described, to move said sliding vibrating lever backward or forward a short distance with each alternate vibration, the said mechanism being controlled by the oscillating lever, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

4. In a button-hole attachment for a sewing-machine, an oscillating lever, mechanism to oscillate said lever, and adjusting devices to regulate the amount of said oscillation, in combination with a sliding vibrating lever actuated by said oscillating lever, and provided with means to clamp the cloth, and means, substantially as described, to move said sliding vibrating lever forward or backward a short distance with each alternate vibration thereof, substantially as set forth.

5. In a buttoirhole attachment for a sewing-machine,-an oscillating lever, and mechanism to oscillate the said lever, in combination with a sliding vibrating lever provided with means to clamp the cloth, means, substantially as described, to move said sliding vibrating lever forward or backward a short distance with each alternate vibration thereof, and mechanism to regulate the amount of said intermittent movement, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

6. In a button-hole attachment fora sewing-machine, an oscillating lever pivoted at one end, and means to oscillate it, in combination with a sliding vibrating lever supported by said oscillating lever, and provided with means to clamp the cloth, cam mechanism to move said sliding vibrating lever forward or backward a short distance with each alternate vibration thereof, and a cam to oscillate said. I

sliding vibrating lever upon the oscillating lever independently of its regular vibratory movement for the purpose of forming the ends of the button-hole, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

7. In a button-hole attachment for a sewing-machine, an oscillating lever and means to oscillate it, in combination with a sliding vibrating lever vibrated by said oscillating lever, and provided with means to clamp the cloth, cam mechanism to move said sliding vibrating lever forward or backward inter mittently a short space with each alternate vibration thereof, and mechanism to oscillate said sliding vibrating lever independently of vibratory movementand during the completion'of the forward movement and starting of the backward movement, or vice versa, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

8. In a button-hole attachment for a sewing-machine, an oscillating lever and means to oscillate it, in combination with adjusting devices to regulate the amount of said oscillation, a sliding vibrating lever provided with meansto clamp the cloth and carried by said oscillating lever, cam mechanism to move said bar forward or backward intermittently a short space with each alternate vibration of said sliding-vibrating lever, and adjusting devices to regulate the amount of said intermittent movement to said vibrating bar, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

f' 9, The combination of oscillating lever G, sliding vibrating lever K, stud D and its block, lever 0', adjustable pin 0', block 0, cams H and I, and mechanism, substantially as described, for imparting intermittent rotary motion to said cams, substantially as set forth.

10. The oscillating lever O, in combination with a sliding vibrating lever provided with means to clamp the cloth, and supported and vibrated by said oscillating lever, slotted lever 0, slide-block O and adjustable fulcrumpin 0, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

11. The combination of base-plate A, stud B, lever O, studD, lever E, pins D D block D sliding vibrating lever K, carrying the cloth-clamp, and having slots K k, rollers m m, cams H and I, and means actuated by lever E to rotate said cams, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

\ 12; The combination of base-plate A, stud B, lever O, lever 0', having slot 0 adjustable fulcrum c, stud D, lever E, pins D D block D, sliding vibrating lever K, carrying the cloth-clamp,, and having slots K k, rollers m m, cams H and I, and means actuated by lever E to rotate said cams, substantially as and for the purpose specified. 7

13. The combination of base-plate A, stud B, lever O, stud D, lever E, pins 1) D block- D, sliding vibrating lever K, carrying the m, cams H and I, wheel G, band F arm F, 10 cloth-clamp, and having slots K k, rollers m lever F, spring f and adjusting-screw F, m, cams H and I, wheel G, band F arm F, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

and lever F, substantially as and for the pur- In testimony of which invention I hereunto 5 pose specified. set my hand.

14. The combination of base-plate A, stud JOHN H. PALMER. B, lever C, stud D, lever E, pins D D", block XVitnesses: D sliding vibrating lever K, carrying the R. M. HUNTER,

cloth-clamp, and having slots K in, rollers m ISAIAH MATLAOK. 

